


repair me, every thread of me

by Ultron



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route Spoilers, Post-Blue Lions Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Spoilers for Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-11-26 16:00:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20932880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ultron/pseuds/Ultron
Summary: She stood there a moment and just watched him. Watched the way he delicately pulled the thread to and fro through his wound, his stitches almost perfect. His needlework had improved over the years. Though she suddenly didn't really want to think about as to the how.





	repair me, every thread of me

The war was finally at it's end. For this Mercedes was singing praises to the goddess.

When the professor and Dimitri returned from the final confrontation with Edelgard in the throne room with Dimitri's Areadbhar stained with blood, some seeping from the shoulder of his cloak, they knew what had happened. The Emperor was no more.

After gathering up the former Imperial soldiers for prison and rescuing those who had been imprisoned in Enbarr, including Lady Rhea, the Kingdom army and the Knights of Seiros decided it was time for a celebration.

"Mercedes?"

Mercedes looked up from the dough she was kneading to see Dedue standing in front of her.

"Oh, hello Dedue," she began. "Do you need something?"

His stern face didn't betray too much emotion but there was concern evident in his voice. "Did His Highness come to you about his wound yet? I told him he needed to be looked at but he said he had something he needed to attend to before. I haven't seen him since we returned and I fear he's postponing getting it checked for some reason."

Mercedes understood his concern. Everyone on the team could be a bit reckless about their wounds but Dimitri was probably one of the worst lately. She hadn't seen him all evening. In fact the last time she remembered seeing him was when they arrived back at Garreg Mach. He'd entered with all of them to the sound of applause and talks of celebration but she remembered him slipping away from the crowd.

"Was he not in his room?"

Dedue shook his head. "No, I've checked there. I feel like I've looked around the whole monastery."

Mercedes thought for a moment then it seemed to hit her. "Did you check the cathedral?"

"I thought it was closed in the evening."

Mercedes smiled. "It's never truly closed but it's usually empty in the evening. That makes it good to hide away there." She wiped her hands on her apron. "If you could take over this dough I could go see about him. I can make sure his wound gets healed properly."

Dedue nodded. "Of course. Thank you Mercedes."

***

When Mercedes left the kitchen she was immediately hit with a cool breeze. She stared up at the stars in the sky and the stunning full moon that gave an ethereal glow to the yard and thought about what a beautiful night it was. _And how peaceful. May we have nothing but peaceful nights to come._ She spoke the prayer only in her thoughts but knew it would reach the goddess's ears.

She started off toward the cathedral, staring around at the different parts of the monastery as she passed. How many times had she walked these paths with her classmates, laughed with them, smiled with them. It was hard to believe those days were so long ago. But maybe know this place could have a future where other students could experience those joys without the same fate that had awaited their class.

Mercedes still felt a little sick thinking about what they had to do to their other classmates. Though she may not have been particularly close to them they were still people she knew first as people and second as members of the Empire and Alliance. Even though she had not been the one to stain her hands with their blood, the best thing that came from not fighting on the front lines, she still felt guilty.

And if she was feeling guilty over the deaths of near strangers, how much more must Dimitri being feeling over the death of his stepsister Edelgard.

She quietly pushed open the cathedral doors, enough to slip through, and immediately spotted him sitting on a pew in the back. What she hadn't expected was for him to be sitting there shirtless and stitching up his shoulder wound.

She stood there a moment and just watched him. Watched the way he delicately pulled the thread to and fro through his wound, his stitches almost perfect. His needlework had improved over the years. Though she suddenly didn't really want to think about as to the how.

"I can try to heal that," she began as she stepped through the door and he turned to her with a surprised look on his face.

"Oh, hello Mercedes. I'm sorry I didn't hear the door open." He paused his stitching but still held the needle in his hand. "Did Dedue send you to fetch me?"

"He was looking for you but I told him I thought you might be here and I'd come check. He wanted to make sure got your wound looked at."

She motioned toward his stitches. "I can heal that for you Dimitri. If you want."

He looked down at the wound and for a moment a flash of sadness washed over his blue eye. She could only imagine what was running through his mind as he shook his head. "I think I want it to heal on it's own."

"It may scar," she began as she took a seat beside him on the pew.

"I know."

He didn't say anything besides that but Mercedes thought she knew why he wanted it that way. He wanted it to scar so he had a reminder of what had to be done, of what was the only way to peace. Both for the world and for his mind.

There was a moment of silence for a moment and he took that as an invitation to return to his stitches. He finished the final stitch and bit off the thread with his teeth.

She couldn't help but giggle a little and he looked at her confused. "My mother would do that sometimes but then would say it was unladylike. She always made sure I used scissors."

Dimitri took the thread and laid it on the pew beside him. "If only I had some of those before. I might have pulled less out..."

He trailed off and she knew immediately he was thinking about the last five years, could tell he was about to get drawn back into those dark thoughts. So she reached out and carefully took the needle from his hand. He flinched just a little as her soft hands brush against his calloused ones.

She held it in her palm for a moment. "Remember the time when you kept bending the needle?"

Dimitri chuckled. "I couldn't even get it threaded then."

She laughed as well. "You even broke a pair of scissors; I still don't know how you managed that."

Then suddenly their laughter died away and there was a moment of silence between them. That was something that happened a lifetime ago. They looked at each other a moment then stared down at the needle still in her hand. It had a little bit of dried blood on it and she suddenly wondered how many wounds it had patched up over the last five years. Wondered how it first felt when he had to pierce his skin to pull it through. Were his first stitches jagged? Not tight enough? Did he ever push himself too hard and reopen them, forcing himself to repeat the process?

Just how had he managed to survive all those years with no one by his side? No one to heal him? Check on him? Why couldn't they have found him sooner?

"Mercedes?"

Suddenly his hand was on her shoulder and she was pulled away from her dark thoughts. He was staring at her with concern in his beautiful blue eye. _He always had beautiful eyes._

"Why are you crying?"

"Eh?" Mercedes wiped her cheeks and for the first time noticed tears on them. She's suddenly embarrassed and softly pulled her apron up to dab her eyes. "Ha-ha, I didn't even notice. I'm so sorry, Dimitri."

She smoothed her apron back down and then suddenly his hands cupped hers. She stared at them for a moment before looking back up at him.

"You have nothing to apologize for," he began. "I know from experience holding in your emotions isn't healthy. I hope you feel comfortable enough with me to share the reason for your tears though."

Mercedes was a little taken aback by his words. She thought back to a few months ago when she was comforting him and not the other way around. She let out a sigh as she stared back down at their hands. "I was thinking about...about how alone you must have been for the past five years. How you had no one to heal you. How if only we had found you earlier..."

She thought she might cry again but he cupped her chin and lifted her head up to face him. There was nothing but a clear look in that blue eye as he spoke. "Living in the present is the best we can do. You spoke those words to me, Mercedes. Don't worry yourself about the me of the past. Without him I may never have gotten here."

He removed his hand from her face and then tenderly laid it over his wound. "It's still...hard to completely let go of the past but I'm trying. In that way I guess you could say I'm still...patching myself up."

Mercedes gently grabbed his hand and held it in hers. "That's okay, Dimitri. You know...I can help you with that if you need it."

He smiled at her again, a new light sparkling in his eye. "I would like that. You know Mercedes I can't thank you enough for teaching me to sew...the amount of times I needed it..." 

"Well, there were plenty of times when knowing how to use a sword helped me out too," she began, "You know I still mean what I said a few months ago. I still want to be by your side, sewing and training."

He nodded. "And I still want to be by yours as well. Honestly...I would be by your side forever if you'd have me."

At first the words don't fully register with her but when it hit her she blushed a deep red. "Wa-wait...Dimitri...are you...?"

"Once I take the throne the people will expect me to take a queen shortly after. I don't want some noble woman who the people will admire but never really know. I want someone who will always be there for my people and for me. Someone with a kind soul, who understands the hardships that we've endured."

Mercedes could feel a million thoughts running through her head. She'd been opposed to marrying some nobleman but this was Dimitri and he wasn't just some nobleman. She wished to spend her life helping people and he, the Savior King, wanted to help them as well. Maybe they could patch up Faerghus and each other together.

Marriage should really be something one should think long and hard about. But after what they'd been through Mercedes knew that one didn't always get the time to think long and hard. Sometimes you just had to go with your heart.

And hers was screaming...

"Yes."

Dimitri hadn't even asked the question but she gave him the answer he wanted more than anything and he couldn't help it as he cupped his hands around her face and pulled her into a kiss. She laid hers against his chest as she leaned into the kiss.

"Well, well talk about giving a pearl to swine."

Mercedes and Dimitri broke apart, both a little flustered, as they glanced over at Felix who stood at the door with his hand on his hip and a disapproving glare on his face.

Dimitri cleared his throat. "Yes, Felix?"

"Apparently we can't celebrate without our boar king so they sent me to fetch you since your first hunter never came back with you," He flicks his eyes over the scene in front of him. "I guess I can see why."

Dimitri stood up to face him. "You can let everyone know we'll be right there."

Felix just waved his hand over his shoulder as he turned to leave. "Yeah, yeah."

As the cathedral doors closed behind him, Dimitri turned to Mercedes who was now standing beside him, holding his shirt and armor out to him. He quickly slipped them back on and then threw his cloak around himself.

"I suppose we should get going then," she began though she would have gave anything to stay there, just the two of them, for a second longer.

"One moment," he began as he fished through the pocket of his cloak. Mercedes cocked her head to the side, confused, as he pulled out a spool of thread. He then reached over and pulled her hand out to him. He unspooled a bit of thread, bit it off, then wrapped it around her ring finger, tying it in a little bow.

They looked up at each other at the same time, both smiling. "I can't give you a ring right now but I hope this still lets you know that I wish to stand beside you for the rest of my life. I love you Mercedes."

Mercedes took her now "ring"-adorned hand in his. "I love you too, Dimitri."

**Author's Note:**

> I got them as a paired ending and I loved their supports so I absolutely had to write a fic for them. I'll probably end up writing fics for all my paired endings but these two just tugged at my heart.
> 
> This was also inspired by this tweet that I saw and immediately was hit with the angst: https://twitter.com/ylissebian/status/1179206544652677120
> 
> Title of this fic comes from the song "Stitch by Stitch" by Javier Colon. I highly recommend listening to the whole song because it just feels so fitting for them!


End file.
